Castro Accuses Bush of plotting to assassinate him.

["Loredana Morandi" <loredana.morandi@tiscali.it>]

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Sent: Friday, January 30, 2004 3:33 PM
Subject: Castro Accuses Bush of plotting to assassinate him.


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HAVANA (AFP) - President Fidel Castro (news - web sites) accused US President George W. Bush (news - web sites) of planning to have him assassinated to overthrow Cuba's communist government. 


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Castro also warned Friday that he was ready to "go down fighting" if the United States should try to invade Cuba at any time. 


Speaking at the end of a regional meeting against the North American Free Trade Agreement here, Castro said Bush had conspired to assassinate him. 


"We knew that Mr. Bush had made a commitment with the mafia of the Cuban-American Foundation to kill me. I say so and I accuse him of this," Castro told some 1,000 representatives from 32 nations. 


During his lengthy, improvised address at the 3rd Hemispheric Meeting for the Fight Against NAFTA, Castro, 77, went over the history of North and South America and the world, criticizing the "neo-liberal capitalism" and globalization. 


Most of the five-hour speech, however, was targeted at the "belligerent behavior" of the United States. 


After charging Bush with conspiring with the virulent anti-Castro Cuban-American community of Miami, Florida to turn Castro into a dead man, he said referring to himself: "The deceased can still talk. The deceased can make plans. He's not dead yet." 


"And those idiots better not believe we're wasting our time, because we really work at our job. This country will never give up. It will never lay down its weapons," Castro stressed. 


He said Cuba does not want "in any way to assume the cost of a war (against) Yankee imperialism," but warned that despite the tremendous pressure from Washington, "we won't budge at all from our principles." 


"I'm telling you I don't want to survive a war. I've already done my part and I still have to do what I have to do. Weapons in hand, I don't care how I die, but I'm confident that if they invade us, I will go down fighting," Castro said to thunderous applause.